Riu Santa Fe

Hi RIU Fans, a party of 2 couples just returned from Cabo yesterday. I first want to mention that this resort is known to be 3 out of 5 stars. So with that being said most travelers should know, you get what you paid for. Just some info about us; we are avid travelers, early 40’s, love Mexico, didn’t bring our children and were ready to party. Now with that being said we loved it at the RIU. Due to COVID the hotel is only at 30% capacity and there are a lot of Mexican Citizens traveling at this time. Every morning we would eat at the Baja California buffet or buffet by the ocean front pool. Baja was bigger and had a large selection. I normally grabbed 2 fried eggs, beans, potatoes, tortillas and pazola. For lunch we would grab something small small from the buffet by the pool because we were poolside most days. There I would grab French fries, nachos, and tacos. For dinner we would normally eat at the Baja because the selection was large; I loved the pasta bar area. Again, I have no complaints about food. We stayed in room 7222 ocean view. It was nice and clean but older. The view was amazing and you could hear the waves crashing. The mini frig was stocked with Diet Pepsi, Pepsi, 7 up, Dos X, carbonated water and water. There was plenty of space for a couple. The bathroom wasn’t as well stocked but I was prepared. It had the basics- combo body wash/shampoo, bar soup, and Kleenex. The beds were fine and the pillows were fine. You can order extra pillows and towels. We never had an issue with missing items but we left all valuables in the safe. Now the resort it self was huge so getting to the front from building 7 was a walk when it’s Texas hot. Overall I loved it and will be back!!! Tips; -Ladies bring your own shampoo/conditioner -Bring a yeti to refill drinks at the bar -Download the app for request (pillows, towels etc) -Since the Mini Bars in room are not stocked ask the bartender for a glass of vodka and store in room -bring good walking shoes like Teva’s -bring a mini speaker for pool side -bring about $200 in small bills such as 1’s, 5’s, 10’s -before you get in a cab ask how much. Most taxis will not have change to break a $20 -use uber. It cost 2-3 dollars to downtown or marina -brings 1’s everywhere to tip the waitstaff as they are amazing -bring 1’s to tip the bar staff -if you walk the beach be prepared to be bombarded with locals selling items -stop at Walmart for Red Bull there’s none in resort -drinks/ Shots- Scoobys were good, only serve Dos X, Expresso Martinis were delicious, and better alcohol in the Sports Bar. -quick sandwiches are in sports bar. I enjoyed chicken salad one. -bring tums Transportation: We used Happy Transfer’s which we used from Cancun before. They are easy to find at airport and pick you up from resort. $130 round trip, nice SUV’s, beer and water included. Felt safe. Call/text Isaac +52 624 186 0163. Excursions: Pez Gato was amazing for snorkeling, open bar, lunch, view of the rock formations. You can purchase digital pictures for $30 that will be emailed. There will be at least 20-25 pictures. I always felt 100% safe and the team really took great care of you. Cactus Tours; We did the Razors. They are super fast and mainly done for the husbands. Great views but I was nervous. I checked that off my bucket list and don’t plan to do it again. They do not allow cameras or cell phones on this excursion. They will sell you photos for $20 for 1 or a USB for $140. We opted for 1 photo and they nicely provided us 2 for 1. This place likes to upsale everything and the tour guide clearly tells you they would like a $20-$40 tip. Restaurants we loved outside of the resort: Misones De Kino- amazing food, staff, and atmosphere The Office- amazing atmosphere Baja Brewery- is great for all my craft beer lovers

I went with a couple of friends and someone would expect that this kind of hotels would take serious consideration about Covid security. The day we checked in, there were about a hundred people waiting on line to do check in (I understand that the hotel is quite big), however when I went back to the front desk because my key wasn't working, I heard a lady complaining because she didn't have a room since she paid tons of money for it, I didn't care that much about it until one staff member said to her that they were fully booked and they couldn't change her to another room... What???!!! Ok, I understand that some of the rooms were damaged due to the hurricane but still, isn't it supposed not to be over 30% of their capacity? I finally gave up on trying someone to help me with my key, so I went into my friends room to take a shower and I called about 10 times to front desk and another 10 to customers service, guess what? Every time someone would take my call, no one was answering, I listened about 5 minutes of arguing with some people on the other side of the line and when I was saying 'hey' they would put my call in hold... Way too rude for a 5 stars hotel. Food was okay, drinks okay, nothing was out of the ordinary... Regardless this bad experiences, I really want to congratulate (I don't recall his name. I think it was Javier) the Manager in the restaurant next to the beach pool. He was not only very nice and friendly, he offered us a great service and he was great accommodating our group of over 10 people. He showed how service should be... Overall, the experience was okay but I don't know if I would choose you again.